Historically, consumers of telecommunication services have subscribed to contracts with telecommunication service providers and have obtained their telecommunication devices, such as mobile phones, as part of those contracts. When a consumer's contract ends and the consumer sings up with a new telecommunication service provider, the consumer often obtains a new telecommunication device as part of the sign up process. Increasingly, however, consumers are switching between service providers and bringing their existing telecommunication devices into the new contract or new relationship.
To activate the existing telecommunication device for the new telecommunication service provider, the consumer typically must bring the telecommunication device to a facility, such as a store, of the new telecommunication service provider. Personnel at the store will provide the consumer with a new subscriber identity module (SIM) for accessing telecommunication services of the new telecommunication service provider, will activate the new SIM, and will inform the previous telecommunication service provider of the change to enable that service provider to deactivate its service.